Lidl-Trek works hard all day, but it's Bennett who comes out of nowhere and wins the first stage in Provence

Sam Bennett won the first stage of the Tour de la Provence. In the challenging opening stage, the Irish sprinter from AG2R Decathlon La Mondiale was the strongest of a small peloton after a tough race. He defeated Lukas Kubis of Unibet Tietema Rockets, who finished second. Lidl-Trek did not meet expectations: Mads Pedersen could not capitalize on his team's hard work.

The French stage race was the first in the country since the disastrous Star of Bessèges. Due to unsafe situations with cars on the roads, half of the participants abandoned the race there. Many of those riders, including Mads Pedersen, planned to be at the start of the Tour de la Provence in Marseille. Last year, the Danish rider from Lidl-Trek won the Star of Bessèges and the Tour de la Provence.

An early breakaway group with four French riders took off. Normally, they would have been in the lead for most of the day, but nothing could be further from the truth. On the first real categorized climb of the day, at about 130 kilometers from the finish, the peloton pushed hard. Lidl-Trek, in particular, picked up the pace, undoubtedly driven by the strong winds. It went so fast that only about twenty riders remained. And impressive riders they were: Pedersen was there with four teammates, including Bauke Mollema and Toms Skujins. But Matej Mohoric and Jake Stewart had also slipped away.

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Battle from start to finish

Many riders could not keep up with the pace, including big names such as Sam Bennett, Pascal Ackermann, Fred Wright, and Marijn van den Berg. So, it was an all-out battle from the start of the race. However, the chase was well organized, and some riders could catch up, but Bennett and Paul Penhoët, for example, seemed out of their depth. No large peloton was left, so the remaining teams were incomplete, and the final became chaotic. On the Col de Belcodène, about 45 kilometers from the finish, several riders tried to force the pace by accelerating.

After several accelerations by TotalEnergies, Mattéo Vercher of that team broke away. He gained a twenty-second lead on his own, but the strong Mistral winds, which blew at 50 kilometers per hour, made it difficult for the French rider. Lidl-Trek rode very defensively and set a high pace on the last climb. They neutralized every new attack, keeping Pedersen in pole position. However, what was expected on the descent was that Matej Mohoric attacked.

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Lidl-Trek exhausted

And immediately, the defending champion was on his wheel. The descent was not particularly technical, so the Slovenian from Bahrain Victorious could not escape the former world champion. Order was restored somewhat, and the men from Lidl-Trek once again took responsibility, with an enormously strong Mollema at the service of his team leader. An intermediate sprint in the final phase caused the peloton to come to a standstill, and that was the moment for TotalEnergies to give it another try.

This time, it was Thomas Leroux, and he did a great job: he gained forty seconds. Behind him, Pedersen's team was still working, but they had already had to push all day. Things were not looking good for Mollema and co. The 30-year-old French neo-pro kept up the pace, and the gap was not closing fast at all. Last year, he won a stage in the Sar of Bessèges, and this time, too, he had a chance to hold off the peloton.

When Mollema completed his task, it was up to the slightly fresher men. They were left behind for the last few kilometers, and things picked up. The lone adventurer was caught at the finish line in the last kilometer, so it came down to a sprint. Pedersen was positioned perfectly, but Bennett, who had been riding along, came out of nowhere and turned out to be the fastest.

Results stage 1 Tour de la Provence 2025

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